-by Anne Finlay-Stewart
A piece of Canadian art, with a retro-pop twist, could be yours. And all for a good cause.
The Owen Sound Community Fund is pleased to offer a chance to win a framed numbered print by Canadian artist Carl Beam as a fundraiser this summer and fall.
All proceeds, along with donations and bequests to the Owen Sound Fund, are invested in a pool of funds under the umbrella of the Community Foundation Grey Bruce. The income earned from the capital of the Fund is distributed through grants to applicable not-for-profit organizations within Owen Sound.
Virginia Eichhorn, Director and Chief Curator of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, knew Carl beam well and curated over a dozen of his exhibitions. She was pleased to help introduce the artist with these words,
"Carl Beam is an internationally recognized artist whose work can be found in a variety of media in significant public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Tom Thomson Art Gallery. Beam was the first Aboriginal artist whose work was collected by the National Gallery as contemporary artwork rather than ethnographic, paving the way for First Nations artists to be recognized for their contribution to the contemporary art world. He was the recipient of the Governor General's Award for Visual and Media Arts in 2005. In 2009 the National Gallery of Canada produced a retrospective exhibition of his work that toured Canada and the United States. Beam was the subject of the documentary "Aakideh: The Art & Legacy of Carl Beam" which debuted at the National Gallery in October 2009."
Beam's printmaking was influenced by the work of contemporary artists Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol.
The particular numbered print the Owen Sound Fund is privileged to offer is a silkscreen based on the September 22, 1977 cover of Rolling Stone, featuring Elvis Presley. Limited raffle tickets are available for $5 each, from Fund committee members, the Foundation office and Elsie's Diner on Highway 6 north of Springmount, where the print has pride of place until the draw November 28.
